Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is a different point. It is not sustainable to rely on HAP for our social housing supports, as we are doing at the moment. That is different from suggesting we are not meeting people's housing needs.

I heard that there was a good programme on the repair and lease scheme the other night. I did not see it, but I understand it covered some properties I have inspected. The scheme is important in the context of the discussion we have been having about vacancy. I do not know whether the committee has had an opportunity to debate the latest Indecon report, which is incredibly interesting.

The true level of vacancy in Dublin is 0.6%. That is not based on the numbers provided by the CSO, which include houses for sale or rent, those undergoing renovation and the homes of people in nursing homes.

The repair-and-lease scheme is fantastic but its criteria are restrictive. To qualify, a person must have a second home in which he or she does not live and which is in a state of significant disrepair such that it cannot be inhabited. The person must not be able to afford its renovation and must be prepared to lease it for at least five years. It is a good scheme but the number of people who can avail of it might not be as significant as we first envisaged. I have been speaking to Deputies from outside of Dublin regarding vacancies in their local authority areas which are near or a short commute to urban centres and what we can do in terms of pairing people up with such vacancies. There is something else at which I am looking relating to the repair-and-lease scheme because it is a good programme but is not delivering in the way we thought it would. It is possible that there is less demand for the scheme than we anticipated when we originally looked at the numbers two years ago.

On the Land Development Agency, the general scheme of the legislation will be published later this year. The agency is already working. It has been set up under a different Act on an interim basis in order to be able to work on the sites that have been identified, negotiate with Departments and get additional sites into the pipeline. In answer to a parliamentary question on the issue in the Dáil this morning I stated that we can have it established by Easter of next year. It will then move to its second phase of funding, which is the capitalisation under ISIF. It will receive €20 million in initial capital under the urban regeneration fund to allow it to fulfil its role between now and then. I look forward to an exciting debate on the legislation. People have differing views on the matter. It is a very important development.